jackson estate showdown. michael jackson's mother heads to court tomorrow to deal with custody and estate issues. will she be put in charge of everything? a very good sunday morning, everyone. i'm alex witt live in new york. we have that plus details over a $20,000 custody battle over a 6-year-old dog. but first, the developing news this morning. the u.s. military's just found the remains of a u.s. navy pilot who was shot down during the first few days of the first iraq war more than 18 years ago. lieutenant commander scott speicher was originally declared dead but his status later changed to missing because his remains were never found. nbc's jim miklaszewski joins us from washington with all those details. things have changed now, mick. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, alex. the u.s. military, the pentagon, even then-secretary of defense dick cheney were so convinced back there on the first day of the gulf war in 1991 that scott speicher was killed when his

f/a-18 hornet was shot down in western iraq that he was declared dead. but subsequently because his body was never found, and in fact the wreckage was eventually located and his flight suit was found intact. it raised the possibility he in fact survived the shootdown of his fighter jet and he may have been taken into iraqi custody. that question loomed for a few years until there were rumors floating around iraq that an american fitting scott speicher's description had in fact been seen in an iraqi prison. well then after that, in january of 2001, the pentagon changed the status from killed in action to missing and possibly captured. but it was in early july that an iraqi approached american forces in iraq and said that he knows two iraqis who have firsthand knowledge of the disposition of speicher.

those two iraqis were located, and they led marines to western anbar where the remains were unearthed. one of those iraqis told military officials that he personally witnessed the plane go down and witnessed someone burying scott speicher. the family was notified of this latest event last night. it's not clear, but they may have a statement later today. this 18-year mystery, not quite closed yet, because it's still been undetermined exactly how scott speicher died and when in that sequence he may have been killed but the remains have been found and identified by forensics experts. >> given those uncertainties as to how he died, how confident is the military they'll be able to figure that out? >> well, it may be difficult. unless these eyewitnesss have additional information that hasn't been released yet, that's entirely possible. but based on we understand were the conditions of remains, it may be difficult for forensics

experts to determine exactly how he die, whether he died in the crash itself, whether he died later of his injuries, or whether in fact he may have been taken into custody by somebody and then killed. but military officials hint that because this grave site was found so close to the crash site itself, the early indications are that he probably died outright when an iraqi missile shot down his fighter jet there in western iraq. >> okay, mick. thank you very much, as always. well, the last thing was to get the energy and health care bill passed. here's what larry summers, the president's top economic advisor said on nbc's "meet the press." >> the press has made health r care a central issue in long term deficit reduction. it is going to be the largest part of the federal budget.

it's the thing that's most important for businesses' competitiveness and for workers take-home pay. nbc's mike viqueira is at the white house this sunday morning. good morning, mike. what else did dr. summers have to say? >> it's interesting, dr. summers was making the case that the health care fix and health of the economy are part and parcel of the same thing. you saw him outline the case there that the deficit cannot continue as it has been. this of course is something that the white house and administration official are very sensitive about, not only is it reflected in the polls among the public, concern about the amount of spending going on, not only with the stimulus package, but with other government programs here, including the regular spending bills in congress. but concern about the deficit and concern not only among the public but among economists to say that large deficits are unsustainable, the percentage of gdp that we're running now as a function of the deficit unsustainable. so we need health care to bring

down a lot of those costs in medicare, in medicaid, in social security, in other programs. of course health care that we've heard it over and over again from the administration and others approaching one-fifth of the total u.s. economy. costs are getting out of control. not only that, individuals are not going to be able to afford health care and businesses will not be able to offer it. summers talked about the economy as well. of course we saw those gdp figures encouraging signs interpreted by the market and other economists. the white house very carol to say that the jobless numbers are still bad, we're not declaring mission accomplished by any stretch of the imagination on the economy, but they are taking credit for taking steps to stopping this slide. let's hear what larry summers said about that moments ago on "meet the press." >> if you look at economic output over the next six months, it's actually likely to start to increase. now the jobs picture's going to be serious for a long time to come. the best that can be said so far

is the rate at which we're losing jobs is declining, but there, too, the picture is improving. >> so there you heard it from larry summers. growth in the second half of this year. alex, we're already in the second half of this year so that third quarter figure that i'm sure the administration will be looking forward to those in the fall, they expect it will show positive growth and an end to the recession. >> let's hope so. but with the unemployment figures lagging hyped, it could be a while before people really feel that end. mike viqueira at the white house, thanks so much. watch david gregory's entire interview with lawrence summers when "meet the press" airs at 2:00 p.m. eastern time. today we could have our first-ever look at michael jackson's deathbed. a british tabloid is publishing a photo it claims is of jackson's bedroom taken just after he died. all this as lawyers gear up for tomorrow's courtroom showdown over michael jackson's estate. msnbc.com entertainment cored

courtney hazlett joins me live from los angeles. good morning, court. this picture, how legitimate is it? has it been confirmed? what do we know about it? >> it's not been confirmed by anybody who would directly have knowledge of what his bedroom looked like after the paramedics and such arrived. this is a picture that, truth be told, doesn't add anything to the story. it doesn't advance the story. but much like every other development in this very, very long and complicated story of michael jackson's life, it might answer one question, but then raises five more. that's what you got there. >> okay. now every day we are learning more and more about michael jackson's personal doctor, dr. conrad murray. the more we learn, the picture gets a bit more convoluted, a bit bleaker. what is the latest on him? >> the latest is this -- we know that he owes a lot of money.

we were wondering why would somebody decide to go against all medical advice and practice and that sort of thing and give michael jackson propofol. dr. murray has a $780,000 settlement against his business, he had mortgage payments outstanding, student loans, child support. that's a lot of financial pressure. when you look at what he was being offered which was a once in a lifetime opportunity, which is basically what he told his current patients, that he had in las vegas, and $150,000 a month, i can't say that i could see how he felt or step into his shoes, but you do understand that there's a man who's struggling to net out his bottom line. so as we continue to find out more about what happened, those last days, we do find out more about what was possibly driving dr. murray to make the choices that he made. >> what do you expect to happen tomorrow in court? any fireworks over the custody agreement between katherine jackson and debbie rowe, or the fireworks between katherine jackson and those two executors of michael jackson's will and estate at this point?

>> i think if you're going to one pick to really pay close attention to, you'd want to do the probate hearing. the custody agreement pretty much taken care of, alex. depp by rowe's going to have meaningful visitations with the kids. katherine jackson will retain custody, as stipulated in the will. but as far as that probate hearing, that's where we get down to money, we get down to how much cash on hand will katherine jackson have moving forward before the estate settles. a lot of people are saying, hey, she got 40% of michael jackson's estate, that's a lot of money, but that's a lot of money after all the debts and liabilities have been settled. katherine jackson knees some cash now. she's raising michael's kids and michael did provide for her on a daily basis for her living expenses when he was alive. i think you're going to start to see maybe tempers flare a little bit more on katherine jackson's side and i think that's entirely fair. up to this point it has been extremely cordial but we're seeing the beginnings of a little frustration from the attorney. a lot of press release battles,

not directly, just issuing statements saying this is why i'm fighting for my client. to me that's a sign of some frustration level rising and we might see it play out tomorrow. >> you'll be on tomorrow. we'll be looking for you. courtney hazlett. coming up in our next half hour, i'll talk with two legal experts about what we can expect to happen during tomorrow's courtroom showdown over michael jackson's estate. and as i said, tune in to msnbc all day tomorrow for the latest hearings. the u.s. is working to secure the release of three americans detained in iran. officials say the two men and one woman mistakenly crossed into iranian territory while they were hiking in a mountainous area near a resort town. nbc's richard engel has the latest. >> reporter: the americans who were arrested in iran originally began their journey here in turkey. it was from turkey that they crossed into kurdistan in northern iraq. kurdistan is a mountainous

autonomous region relatively safe in northern iraq. occasionally tourists do go there, it is increasingly popular for backpackers, those looking for some adventure travel. the americans were traveling in kurdistan, staying in hotels for a few days, then decided to go camping right on the border with iran. this was on friday. it was during this hiking/camping trip that iranian officials say three americans crossed the border into iran. it is not clear if they knew they were crossing into iran. that border is not clearly marked. there were originally four backpackers. one of them, however, decided not to go on this camping expedition. he stayed back at the hotel. he was the last person to speak to his friends, and heard them on a cell phone say something has gone wrong, we have been surrounded by iranian security. the u.s. state department is trying to help. it's contacted switzerland which represents u.s. interests in iran. there are no direct u.s./iranian

diplomatic relations so the united states state department has asked switzerland to investigate and help secure their release. richard engel, nbc news, istanbul. one person is dead and at least 15 injured after a stage collapse in canada. thousands of country music fans in alberto were enjoying the annual big valley jamboree when high winds toppled the concert stage. the four-day festival in canada started on thursday and was scheduled to wrap up today. there's been no word on whether the concert scheduled to take place today will be canceled. coming up, wall street is showing signs of a recovery. the dow has its best july in 20 years. is the recession almost over? plus paul mccartney's special tribute to first lady michelle obama. we'll share that with you here on msnbc sunday. ♪ michelle my belle ♪ these are words that go together well ♪ ♪ my michelle

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a love song for michelle obama from paul mccarter in. he sang "michelle" in front of 60,000 people in maryland last night. he told the crowd it was dedicated to the first lay dp. the first family was at camp david so she wasn't around to hear him sing "i love you" but she must have gotten the message by now. to the economy now. this wednesday, president obama will travel for the second time to elkhart, indiana, part of an area battling with a near-17% unemployment rate. i'm joined now live from washington by a.b. stoddard, associate editor and columnist for "the hill." good morning. >> good morning, alex. >> the president will talk about his vision for the economy. what is the tone do you expect the president to take and what do you think his specific

message will be? >> well, i think he's trying to sorts of ratchet back from the expectations talk. the stimulus package did not mitigate job loss in the ways that the white house was promising when they were urging congress this winter to pass it so quickly. elkhart is a particularly -- one of the worst pockets of the entire country. i don't think you'll see the president go there an tell them that good news is on its way. i think you're going to see once again this sober, somber talk about how long it's going to be and that even if different sectors of the economy recover first, jobs are coming last. they come at the end. i think the most optimistic expectation -- estimate for jobs returning is like the end of 2010 or into 2011. so it will be a very sober message. >> this is underscoring most his message throughout, that economy recovery is not going to happen any time soon but how long do

you think the country's going to be able to just wait for it to happen? how much are they going to be willing to do that, particularly those folks in elkhart? >> well, the problem, again, it's not just that barack obama inherited a tough economy. one that will take a long time to improve. it's also that the government -- the voters have lost confidence in the government just since the '08 election. if you look at the fact congress passed the t.a.r.p., troubled asset relief program in the fall, that's now viewed as not being a spectacular success. the government says it's pulled us back from the brink, but they see bailout after bailout. the stimulus program again not keeping us at 8.5% unemployment. we're about to pass 10%. so the public is losing confidence that the government aid to the economy is actually effective. so that's why it's that much harder and they're becoming far more impashth i think than if

these programs hadn't been passed and spent so much of the treasury. >> before we let you go, sonia sotomayor, senate set to vote on her confirmation this week. last week you said you thought it was around less than 70. something in that ballpark for the final vote. do you still think that's the case? >> yes. we only have -- she's going to get passed. it's now the votes around 66 or 65 because you only have six republicans supporting her -- this we know of. there might be some more in the next couple of days. but if the vote were held today on what's been announced public publicly, looking at six republicans supporting her and a waivering democrat. talking about a vote of 66 or less. they're always surprises. democrats may fall in line. maybe some republicans will come out and support her but it is not going to be the very high vote that they talked about months ago. >> but confirmation requires merely simple majority. >> right. she's the next justice of the

supreme court, for sure. >> all right, a.b. stoddard, thank you so much. for the latest political news, logon to firstread.msnbc.com. to a different kind of political story, that is the stormy times for stormy daniels. adult film star was arrested this past week on a domestic violence charge. her husband told police that daniels hit him because she was upset about laundry and unpaid bills. last may daniels announced she was considering a challenge to republican senator david vitter of louisiana. patrick gavin of politico joins me right now from our washington bureau. what exactly happened here, patrick? >> well, what happened is what you said. she came home upset that her husband hadn't done the laundry, was a bit behind on paying their bills so some plants were thrown, she was picked up, she got her mug shot. which she should know, if you're going into louisiana politics a mug shot seems to be a hallmark in that state. you should get it after you get elected, so say nothing of the the fact i'm a sure she's upset in her mug shot she doesn't have

much makeup on so it is not the most flattering picture for somebody who's and adult film star. >> well mug shot requirements aside, you say facetiously, listen to contessa brewer's interview with daniels back in may when she first announced she was thinking of running. >> the less seriously opponents take me the easier it is to sneak up on them. it maybe will inspire someone else who is extremely qualified who's the best person from the state to do the job. maybe it will encourage that person to step up and run, too. >> what does this all do to her credibility? she mentions right there other people should be encouraged to come in. people will say she's out because of this or do you think she's got a shot? >> i think this certainly does hurt her. i think that the way she might frame it is basically david vitter who she might run against has had some "sins" of his own in past, dealing with

infidelity. some people might say do you want a cheater or a beater? i think this is going to hurt her because, a, men are half the population. i don't think you wanted to busted for beating them up. two, she doesn't look like the most stable candidate. her platform's always been my sins, my life is all in the open. i'm not a hypocrite, my opponent david vitter is, but this is a different story. it shows in her own home she doesn't have her act together. she might say, look, she was just trying to get him to pay his bills on time, she's fiscally prudent. but i think in the eyes of louisiana people, a state known for some quirky political characters, this might come off as something that's just beyond the pale that maybe this individual just doesn't have her act in order. >> real quick, do you know about the people that are handling her? does she have some people with chops around her advising her. >> she does. she has brian welsh a democratic strategist who's helping her out but he had a pretty difficult week of his own.

his car, which was parked on a street, suddenly burst into flames. it was all caught on a surveillance camera. he's sort of subtlie iny sugges this was perhaps a political move designed to scare her and her campaign from jumping into this fray with david vitter. no proof of that whatsoever. we'll see. even though this is louisiana, it seems like it is straight out of the spran knopranos what's g right now. >> thanks, patrick gavin. who knew? but hundreds of chihuahuas are in even him, california this weekend competing in the southwest regional finals for the national chihuahua races. they race down the course of about 30 feet or so. the winner heads to the national finals in new york city on august 29th. there are also regional races to look forward to in dallas, chicago, philly, miami and boston. the national winner gets $300 and a lifetime supply of dog food. don't let those little tiny dogs

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new questions now about the pace of the economy. are consumers slowing down the recovery? for more on this, let's go to "washington post" financial reporter neil irwin. good morning. we look at the recent weeks, we've had economic data in the financial markets looking up. looking ahead at this week, more good news or not so much? >> a lot of data's coming out this week. friday is the jobs report for july. that will tell us what the unemployment rate was, whether employers were cutting jobs at the same furious rate they have been for most of the year. people expect it won't be good, the unemployment will keep rising but it won't be quite as bad as recent months. rate of job losses will decline.

>> do you think it will hit double digits? >> eventually. probably not this month. 9.5% in june. we'll hit maybe 9.6%, 9.7%. likely the fall will be in the 10% range. the dow the last couple of weeks has been on a real high. can this sustain itself beginning tomorrow and last through this week and what might derail it? >> it all comes down to whether these signs of an economic recovery hold up, if we -- we really do have an expansion in the second half of the year like economists expect, if the job market stabilizes, gets better the end of the year or next year, we can sustain the momentum in the stock market. ultimately companies won't make money unless the u.s. economy's strong. whether signs of recovery we're seeing are sustainable or not is the question. >> you write this week the consumers are the ones that could be holding up the economy. explain that. >> that's right. so inventories are down,

businesses are going to have to ramp up production in the next few months. looks like the recession is probably technically ending. the problem is that the unemployment rate is still very high and rising. that means that consumers may not be able to buy stuff at the rates they're used to and we might not see the kind of sustained expansion that you really want to have. we might have a blip that doesn't last. the question is whether the job market stabilizes at some point. that's what it's going to take to get a really sustained economy. >> jobs, jobs, jobs. that's the mantra. neil irvin, thank you. when we come back, the fight over michael jackson's children and multi-million dollar estate. will it all go to the king of pop's mother? you're watching msnbc sunday. undefeated professional boxer floyd "money" mayweather

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there has been talk the economy's showing promising signs of recovery.

this morning on "meet the press," the president's top advisor is giving a bit of credence to that talk. >> -- going to end rather than weather center it is going to turn into a depression. >> lawrence summers right there. msnbc will reair this morning's edition of "meet the press" today at 2:00 p.m. eastern. the stage is set for a courtroom showdown over michael jackson's estate. katherine jackson asking a judge to give her some control over her son's millions. then in the same courtroom, the same judge will rule on the custody agreement that was reached out of court by katherine jackson and debbie rowe late last week. joining me, a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor and a defense attorney. thank you. this will gave katherine jackson

40% of the estate. what's she owed after? >> she's asking for a part nft decision making process. but that's contrary to what michael jackson's will is. that will seems to be valid. i don't think she has any way of insinuating herself or becoming a co-executor. >> john, she's not going to court and not saying she's got a shot. this was read by her attorney -- "she deserves a seat at the table, at minimum. i'm optimistic they can work things out but i'm prepared to go the distance if mrs. jackson asks me to do so." meaning what? could this play out for quite some time in the court or could a judge shut it down, listen, you're getting 40%, this is what michael said, it is what it is. >> i don't think katherine's point is i want more than 40%. her point is i also want to be an executor because i want to know what my son's estate included. in other words, the executors right now, part ever their job is to inventory all of michael

jackson's assets. katherine is essentially saying i need to see 100% of his assets so i know that i'm getting my 40%. but as jay said, unless she can prove that there's some sort of fraud or collusion going on, the judge can say, huh-uh, you're not in it now, you're not going to be in it. >> how much does this have to do with cash flow? she was supported by michael jackson. i guess the executors, do they get money, some sort after stipend? >> they do. but let's put that to the side for a second. since she's going to get 40% of everything at a point in time, she could easily get a certain amount per month or per quarter from the estate. >> she can? >> yes. >> at a point in time it's one thing. paying the mortgage and the care of these three children and all of that, that's going to -- >> but at the end of the day she's going to get 40%. assume that's worth $100 million or even $50 million. if there's money in cs ds or otr

forms that will eventually be liquidated, they can make easily a distribution of $10 million in a month or two or give her an allowance every month. >> that's if these two are in agreement with this. would they have the capability of saying, no, we have to keep it here, see what the value would be down the road? could they make it so it makes it hard for her to get cash which she'll need to sustain her lifestyle and that of the children? >> the executors have the power to do that. i suspect they all want to make nice, say here's an advance and work it that way, they could do that. >> how much does it have to do with the judge is the one who has to say that agreement that you and debbie rowe worked out when he talks to katherine jackson, i understand what this is about. we have to fund this for you, make sure you can take care of these kids. is that all going to be taken into consideration? >> it is all going to be taken into consideration. i think what katherine jackson's

doing is saying, hey, this is a lot of money, i have children to take care of. i'm watching everything that's going on. informally i'd be surprised if the executors said every month we'll give you a report every month what the income and expenses are, kind of in an informal way keep of informed of what's going on. >> debbie rowe will now have access to the kids. won't get more money, reportedly so. >> this is the last we'll see of her for now. but these kids are kids, she can continue to go back to court and ask for certain things, more money, more time, what have you. >> always a pleasure, you guys. thank you. we'll have a live report on the pending jackson courtroom battle from los angeles for you at the top of the hour. car sales are at top speed this weekend thanks to the overwhelming success of the government's cash-for-clunkers program. the program gives $4,500 to

drivers trading in gas guzzlers for new fuel-efficient cars. the allocated amount of money ran out so fast the house voted friday to inject another $2 billion into it. joining me, the ceo of carless.com from california. is the clunker incentive the only thing that's driving car sales these days? >> it really is the thing that is driving it. the auto alliance is saying that it is -- traffic is up like 40% in all of the dealerships. all of those dealerships that signed up are pretty happy right now, alex. >> okay. there are people though who say, look, it's just the time of year to do this. you got the end of the 2009 model cars, want to get them cleared off the lot so you can bring in the 2010s next month. how much is this driven toward the cash for clunkers directive or people saying this is the time to buy a zmar.

>> >> a little bit is both. the big part is getting $4,500 for free. most of these cars were not worth that. so the fact that they can actually get that money in a rebate for free and get it right off the top of the car is just perfect for most of these people. two-thirds of the people that are turning their car in are getting $4,500. that means they're getting ten miles more per gallon than what they traded in. huge for those people in their gas bill. >> i should think that the concept of this whole program was to help better the u.s. car manufacturing industry. are we seeing evidence of that? are there a lot more sales going on with the big three? >> there are more sales going on with the big three. the big cars that are being traded in are the suvs and buying ford focus, toyota corolla and chevy cobalt. it is pretty much still along the same lines they were buying, just in bigger volume. >> larger volume but you're still saying toyota's taking up the lion's share of the

purchases of new cars? >> that's right. and toyota has said that 90% of the people that are buying from the car's program, they're conquest buyers. that would mean that they're buying a toyota but they're trading in some other type of car, which kind of makes sense because those toyota has always had great miles per gallon. the ones that own toyota -- in fact people that i talk to that want to high a hybrid, their cars were already getting more than 18 miles to the gallon so they can't qualify for this program. >> so give me a sense overall how much this will help infuse positive news and good tax flow into the u.s. auto industry? >> it is interesting, because we always talked about are we going to get paid back by the auto companies? this $1 billion, we've already gotten $450 million, $500 million paid back in sales tax.

i think auto companies are going to benefit. counties are going to benefit. banks are going to benefit and the people who are now driving those cars that get more miles per gallon are going to benefit. >> lou ann hammond, ceo of carlist.com. thank you. a japanese car company wants lead the industry in zero emissions. a new electric car, the leaf. nissan will begin selling the cars in the second half of 2010. nissan leaf can reach speeds of up to 76 miles an hour and can travel 100 miles at a time without needing to be plugged in and recharged. when we come back, the house heads home for august recess after a critical vote on health care. can they keep the momentum going during the break? plus a three-year custody battle over a dog. and more than $20,000 in legal fees. we'll examine that. the wedding video gone rival. now the parody. ♪

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the next chapter in the fight over health care. members of congress are heading home this week and next to tell their constituents white they need to support the government's plan or why they need to come out strong against it. i'm joined live from washington now by eleanor clift, contributing editor for noo "newsweek" mall zegazine. jonathan, who's winning the message board right now? >> right now the opponents of health care reform are winning the message war. part of that is because it is easier to defeat something than to get something done in congress. they're able to latch on to the various provisions of the various bills that are out there and mock them and ridicule them. we'll see some of that over the august recess when members have town hall meetings in their

districts. they'll get barraged with questions from people who are upset about a wide range of issues and that will only increase as this debate goes on. there are so many different things to talk about that it is going to be hard for supporters to get momentum back after august. i think if the president ends up being set back only four weeks by the four-week break in his push to get this done, he should consider himself lucky. >> okay. new jersey congressman rush holt had a talk with a constituent who's against health care reform. the man said, "government should stay ow of the health care business. government-run health care would be inefficient, costly, and it would put the government between him and his doctor. it would mean socialized medicine. how did he pay for his health care, i asked? medicare, he responded. eleanor, people who have government care think it is a bad idea. how have democrats lost the message here?

>> i think people think they have medicare, they don't take it to the next step and realize where the funding is coming from. i think the democrats are behind right now in the message war because they are selling a bill that doesn't exist. and there are all kinds of horror stories going around about what might be in the bill and how that might affect people. and people who have insurance are worried they're somehow going to lose something. but if you look -- if you put this in perspective, last serious effort at health care reform 16 years ago, clinton administration, they didn't even get a bill to congress until november of that first year. this president has seen action on several of the key committees and i think there is a resignation in washington, even among the critics, that the president's likely to get something. he may not get everything that he wants, and he's been carefully talking about insurance reform. but if we get nothing else than a regulation that says insurance companies can't toss you out for

a pre-existing condition, even that would be a victory. i think there is anticipation that something will come out of all of this brouhaha. >> jonathan, the associated press is suggesting that the president once again got into a campaign mode aet tood taking it to the trail in toward convince americans health reform is a very good idea. certainly this strategy has worked for the president in the past. do you think it will ultimately be effective with health care? >> i think it is hard to say. that's a critical question going forward. the difference between the president going campaign style on this right now and during the campaign is that during the campaign he had a health care plan that was the obama health care platform. right now he hasn't taken a position on most of the important issues in this debate. until he does that, it makes it harder for him to push particularly when he's out there saying things that sound like they're in conflict with each other, improve access, quality cost for people and cut costs

for the government. he'll have to make some choices to get a health care bill that covers the very important pre-existing change for insurance companies. >> that's a wrap for this segment, guys. eleanor clift and jonathan allen, thank you. when we come back, a three-year custody ballot over a dog. but first, the old geez er cart roll championships. the men sit in the cart while their women partners push them through a race course. through ice, water, hills, sand traps. winners won $140. are you kidding me? that is all? i want to give you some important free advice.

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one new jersey courtroom is going to the dogs. well, one in particular.

it is a three-year custody battle over dexter the pug. a judge has to decide who will get that dog. dexter's owners eric and doreen, have been engaged, then in 2006 they called it quits. at first eric allowed doreen to take the pug, then he changed his mind. the pair's been arguing in court since and so far together have spent a reported $40,000 in legal bills. you know who we're bringing now? lisa green. it is a big story. first, can we talk about the nature of pug fans? >> pug fans are very devoted. you were telling me have you a friend -- >> she's the most rational, wonderful girl, very reasonable when it comes to that pug, huh-uh. >> very devoted. you can tell that both of these people, eric and doreen, are extremely devoted to dexter. so devoted they've spent $40,000. not only that, the court case has gone not just to the trial court but to an appellate court and back to the same judge. what happened originally is essentially to make a very long

and sad story short, they couldn't agree on who should get dexter the pug they'd purchased for $1,500. the trial court said eric, you keep the dog, doreen, you get $1,500. she wouldn't stand for it. the supreme court in a landmark decision in new jersey said that's no way to divide decks per. >> when it comes to custody dispute, with children it wouldn't have been back and forth to this point. i mean three years. would it? there would have been some temporary arrangement. >> it is similar to children. even though the court wouldn't put it that way. the appellate court decided unlike furniture or money, pets are more like heirlooms or estate pieces. you can't put a dollar figure on it. a pet observer would know just like a parent would know, you really can't divide children or the court says pets that way. they'll have to work it out and figure out some arrangement to share them or one of them has to keep dexter. >> do we know what's been happening with dexter's life? has he been ferrying back and

forth between homes? >> no, dexter's been with eric. doreen's lawyer tells me she hasn't seen dexter in 2 1/2 years. doreen was the parent of dexter who dressed him up for christmas and took a lot of photos. >> my question is, what's best for dexter at this point if it's been 2 1/2 years. how long is the memory of a pug? how much will the pug be able to go back -- this will this kind of thing be considered? >> this is stuff they do not teach in law school. but when the appellate court was asked by friends of animal groups to consider dexter's best interest, they said we vo no idea what that is. we'll send this back to the trial court. trial court said to the lawyers on both sides, come back next month with creative ideas for figuring this out. i'm kind of tired of this and i don't want to touch it with a 50-foot leash. >> do you think this next month will be resolved? >> i sure hope so because it seems like a really expensive way to use up a lot of judicial time or something that's real l

heart-rending but neesdz to be worked out. $40,000? a lot of multiples for this dog. this couple has been broken up for years over custody of poor little dexter. >> for all the pug fans out there we'll have you back next hour and talk more about dexter and his poor little tale. thank you, lisa green. in addition to that next hour, a new poll on how seniors feel about the health care reform bill. lls the remains of a u.s. navy pilot are finally found in iraq after nearly 20 years. plus michael vick's hometown's preparing a celebration for the former professional quarterback. could he soon be celebrating a new job as well? t 53. i had felt fin but turns out... my cholesterol and other risk factors... increased my chance of a heart attack. i should've done something. now, i trust my heart to lipitor. when diet and exercise are not enough, adding lipitor may help. unlike some other cholesterol lowering medications,

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it's msnbc sunday. it's the end to a mystery of heartache for an american military family. almost 20 painful years later. it's new insider details about the death of michael jackson and a revealing photo of his alleged

deathbed. also ahead, what th